Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has stated Nigeria will continue to exist as one indivisible nation.

He admonished those speculating that the nation will one day divide, to desist from doing so, as the country has come to stay.

He made the statement in Abuja on Wednesday, at the opening of the National Seminar on Unity and Security, organized by the Department of State Services, DSS.

The Acting President, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the seminar Organized by the Directorate of State Services, DSS said citizens of the country should not believe the false narratives that the country could one day split.

“We must not be misled by those who in some pseudo intellectuals suggest to us that the mere fact that we did not deliberately one day hold a conference to come together, means that we should not or cannot stay together. Indeed, we can,” he said.

Professor Osinbajo therefore cautioned Nigerian citizens to avoid hate speech and anything that will divide the nation, having survived the civil war of the late sixties.

“The witnesses of the horrors of war would not wish it on their worst enemy. But I think. But that it is true that the farther away one is, from the horrors of war, the less impact that it has on one’s thoughts, motivations and way of living. Where we have won is where we have not paid attention to religious or ethnic differences. For instance with our national football team; because we want to win, we don’t ask ourselves whether the players are from what side of the country, whether they are Muslims or Christians, all we are interested in is for them to just score and win. I want to say that that is exactly where we should be today as a nation,” the Acting President advised.

Exemplary Leadership

He commended former Nigerian leader, retired General Yakubu Gowon, for the role he played in ending the war, describing him as a symbol of national unity.

“General Yakubu Gowon’s greatness lies in his policy of no victor-no vanquished, when he began the process of healing our nation that was bruised, damaged and embittered by a three year civil war. There is no question at all that great leadership comes from some sort of self sacrifice and I want to thank General Gowon for playing that role at a crucial moment in our history,” he said.

Also speaking in his capacity as the Chairman of the occasion, retired General Yakubu Gowon said the seminar would go a long way in saving Nigeria as a nation.

“I thank the Director General of the DSS and his colleagues for  a well thought through seminar that will in the long run contribute to saving Nigeria, not just for today but for all times, not just for this generation but for generations unborn and all lovers of humanity and their country,” he said.

The two-day event was attended by religious leaders and traditional rulers as well as elder statesmen and some former top government functionaries.